


of mud and expenses

by DoctorFitzy (KittooningMalijah)



Series: Hauntober 2020 [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Drabble, Fluff, Hauntober, Light Angst, M/M, deke is doing his best, it's a difficult situation to navigate, the angst is v slight i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26814277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/DoctorFitzy
Summary: In which Deke accidentally offers to be a sugar daddy.
Relationships: Trevor Khan/Deke Shaw
Series: Hauntober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948561
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	of mud and expenses

**Author's Note:**

> for Hauntober day 4: "candy apple"

Adjusting the scarf around his neck, Deke pulled it loose enough that he could lower his chin and look down at the pumpkins at his feet. Between the mud, the bugs, the horrendous corn maze he'd been forced to navigate, and the actual  _ hard work  _ of it all, their weekly day off was lackluster at best. He hadn't even been warned enough to wear boots that could stand the dirt and softer ground, so his shoes were sticking with every step, and he'd never be able to wear them into the office again.

"Aren't the baby pumpkins enough? Why do we need big ones, too?"

Trevor rolled his eyes from where he was kneeling on the ground, the jeans he was wearing already dirty and stained before they started their excursion. There had been paint, and something that he wasn't entirely sure wasn't a bloodstain in the denim when they left the apartment that morning, so the mud was easily the least of his worries. "We have to carve faces into them - it's  _ tradition.  _ I told you about it on the way here, remember? And I'll roast the seeds so we can salt them for our next movie night - you know, it's way healthier than popcorn."

With a frown, Deke tried to balance on the balls of his feet while he crouched down to meet his boyfriend's gaze. "Babe, I love you, I really do, but I'm not going to eat pumpkin seeds when there's perfectly good, extra buttery popcorn in the cupboard. I'd rather eat mushroom pellets."

"Then  _ I _ will eat pumpkin seeds, and you can eat popcorn, and neither of us will have to eat mushroom pellets."

Nodding his head, he straightened up again and turned enough to look out at the seemingly endless field of pumpkins around them. Tradition or not, he was still muddy, and he wanted to go home and take a shower, but he didn't know what the quickest route to the shower would even be. Which way had they come from again? He thought he saw the corn maze, off in the distance, but surely they hadn't walked  _ that _ far just to find a few pumpkins, right? "Fine, but your weird traditions wait until  _ after _ I order some new shoes. You could have at least  _ told  _ me that we were doing something like this before dragging me out to the middle of a muddy field. I should make SHIELD pay for my new shoes."

When he looked down again, Trevor was leaning some of his weight against a nearby pumpkin while gazing up at him with a soft smile. It was an expression he knew well, full of fondness and gentleness and love, but it didn't do anything to break through his frustration. Well, it didn't do  _ much _ to break through his frustration. He still had his weaknesses, after all, and the eyes he was currently looking into were half of them. 

"SHIELD won't accept that as a write-off. I asked the director about it last year - I could get reimbursed for your Christmas gifts, even if it was to keep my cover.  _ But, _ you're super rich, so it's a good thing you don't actually need SHIELD's money to afford to, you know, be alive."

He let his shoulders sag at the words, frowning. "They still don't know, do they? That you moved in?" It wasn't like their relationship was a secret, not to anyone at the main office, but there were certain complications that came with the other side of it all. Telling SHIELD about their relationship would mean either putting an end to it or a reassignment, and the latter wouldn't necessarily mean their relationship would actually get to continue.

"No, Deke, they don't know. And you know why they can't."

Deke sighed softly and went back to looking around again, trying to occupy his thoughts. He had a solution for their issue, but it wasn't ideal. "Have you considered... quitting? Leaving SHIELD? Nana and Bobo did it."

"No offense, babe, but they still want you to have a babysitter. That's the only reason I'm still assigned here, remember?" With a shake of his head, Trevor lifted a pumpkin up into his arms while he got to his feet. "I could leave, but then they'd be watching me just as closely as they think I watch you. And it's just as frowned upon for you to date your assistant as it is for me to date you as my target. I'm kind of relying on  _ both _ of those to cancel each other out, morally. It's kind of a complicated situation."

Stepping forward, he adjusted his scarf again before moving to take the pumpkin into his own arms. "And then there's the issue of you having to quit both jobs... But..." Deke bit his tongue for a moment, thinking over the words before he said them. "You already live with me, and it's not like we need an additional income to afford staying there. You could hang out at the apartment all day, if you wanted to, or go out and do things. You're right - I'm  _ super _ rich."

There was silence between them for a moment before Trevor let out a sigh of his own. "I don't know if this term is going to even make sense to you, but are you really offering to be my  _ sugar daddy?" _

"Well, I don't know what that means, but I can look it up when we get to the car."

"Yeah, no, that's not happening. You'd stumble across something I don't want to explain to you. But, if I understand what you're offering correctly..." He trailed off and knelt down again to pick up another nearby pumpkin with a small smile. "You get to pay for the pumpkins. And snacks. We should stop and get something for the drive. If you don't complain about any of that, then maybe we can discuss our plans for the future."

-

The trek back to the gravel lot wasn't as long as it looked, but just long enough that his muscles could feel the distance, and Deke let out a sigh of relief when they got the pumpkins loaded into the trunk. He took a moment to catch his breath, leaning against the side of the car with a small shake of his head while he tried not to frown. "Do we really need snacks? Can't we just go home and take a nap?"

He turned his head to face the quiet laugh that came from nearby, only interrupted by the slam of the trunk closing. "Are you backing down already? It's been like twenty minutes."

"I'm not saying I don't want to pay for snacks. I'm saying I want to sleep, first!" Pausing for a moment, Deke shook his head again and reached into his pocket to dig out his wallet. "Here. I'll give you the card, and you can get us whatever you want. Then, I'm still paying, but I get to wait in the car."

Trevor rolled his eyes but took the credit card when it was offered to him, letting out a sigh. "Fine. But this is no different than when you used to send me on coffee runs. This  _ barely _ counts."

When he returned, a few minutes later, Deke was already in the passenger seat and fiddling with the radio to find something to listen to. The drive back into the city wouldn't be horribly long, but no amount of riding in a car was tolerable without some level of noise, and he fully intended to make the ride home enjoyable.

The smell of sugar filled the car when the door opened and a bakery box was gently deposited into his lap, along with his credit card. "Oh! Snacks!"

"There's a lemon bar in there. And a candy apple, because I don't think I've made you try one, yet, but we can't cut into it until we're home."

Deke grinned and tucked his card away, settling on a radio station while they started to move. Opening the box, he grabbed the lemon bar and took a happy bite before offering it across the car. By the time they got back to the apartment, the bar had been consumed almost fairly, and otherwise reduced to little yellow crumbs around the still untouched apple's red sugar coat.


End file.
